Plant support system

ABSTRACT

A support ( 13 ) for plants comprises of two flanges ( 14, 15 ) between which extends a portion ( 10 ) and a spacer or top portion ( 102 ). The support ( 13 ) allows plants to grow adjacent to a wall or fence ( 17 ) without suffering the effects of excess heat.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to fencing and more particularly to meansfor supporting plants adjacent to but spaced from a fence.

[0002] For the sake of convenience, the invention will be described inrelation to sheet metal fences but it is to be understood that it is notlimited thereto as it may be applied to other fences such as woodenfences and other structures such as walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Sheet metal fences are widely used but suffer from thedisadvantage that it is difficult to grow plants against them becausethe metal readily absorbs heat from the sun. For example, in certaincircumstances it is not practicable to grow climbing plants against ametal fence because of the adverse effect of the heat of the fence onthe climbing plants.

[0004] Sheet metal fences are not particularly aesthetic and home ownersdo wish that they could have plants on or against such fences to atleast partially obscure them as can be done with wooden fences. Thereis, therefore, a need for means for supporting plants adjacent to sheetmetal fences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] According to one particular aspect of the invention there isprovided a plant support comprising:

[0006] top and bottom flanges, aligned in a common vertical plane;

[0007] the bottom flange supporting a lower end of an elongated member;

[0008] the elongated member extending from the lower flange to one endof a spacer;

[0009] the spacer extending between an upper portion of the elongatedmember and the upper flange.

[0010] Preferably, the elongated member is formed from identicalinterlocking plastic sections.

[0011] The elongated members at each end of the system may have a bracebetween its outer most portion and the fence with the brace extendingfrom the elongated member in the general direction of the tensiongenerated by the wires. A turnbuckle may be incorporated into each wireto facilitate tensioning of the wires.

[0012] In other embodiments, the bottom flange is integral with a foot,the foot having means for receiving the lower end of the elongatedmember.

[0013] In order that the invention may be more readily understood andput into practical effect, reference will now be made to theaccompanying drawings in which:—

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elongated member for a plantsupport system according to one embodiment of the invention,

[0015]FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an elongated member connected to afence post,

[0016]FIG. 3 is a schematic top plan view of one end of a plant supportsystem with an angle bracket and turnbuckle.

[0017]FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion of the elongated membershowing the grommets in place,

[0018]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the turnbuckle shown in FIG. 3,

[0019]FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the brace shown in FIG. 3,

[0020] FIGS. 7 to 12 show various modifications of the elongated membershown in FIG. 1,

[0021]FIG. 13 is a side elevation of an embodiment of the invention,

[0022]FIG. 14 depicts front and side elevations of another embodiment ofthe invention,

[0023]FIG. 15 illustrates front, back, side and top views of the topportion or spacer shown in FIG. 14,

[0024]FIG. 16 depicts a partially cross-section top view of theinvention illustrating how it may be attached to a fence post,

[0025]FIG. 17 depicts front, side and top elevations of the adaptordepicted in FIG. 16,

[0026]FIG. 18 illustrates front, side and bottom views of the footdepicted in FIG. 14,

[0027]FIG. 19 depicts front, side, back, top and bottom views of asegment of the type depicted in FIG. 14, the Fig. also illustrating across-section and a detail of the keyholes, and

[0028]FIG. 20 is a perspective view of three plant supports which arelaced together.

BEST MODE AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The plant support means 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a majorportion 13 which in this instance is formed from 25 mm by 25 mm squarecross-section steel tube but of course the member may be formed from anysuitable material of any suitable configuration. The support 10 has atop portion 11, a bottom portion 12 and a major portion 13 therebetween.At the top end portion 11 there is a mounting flange 14 which may beformed from the material of the elongated member or by an additionalcomponent. A similar mounting flange 15 or foot is provided at thebottom end portion 12. Each of the flanges 14 and 15 have apertures 16for receiving screws or other fasteners by which the member 10 issecured to a fence post 17 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0030] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flat faces 101 of theflanges 14 and 15 are more or less parallel and in a common verticalplane to accommodate mounting to the face of the wall, fence or fencepost 17. The major straight portion 13 of the elongated member 10 isdisposed so that it inclines away from the fence post 17. The upper endof the major portion 13 is furthest from the post and the lower end isclosest. A support 10 is secured to each of a run of fence posts and themembers 10 are interconnected by horizontal lines, strings or wires 18.To this end, each member 10 may have a plurality of spaced aparttransverse through apertures 19 perforating in its side faces, therebeing four such pairs of apertures in the example of the elongatedmember of FIG. 2. In this instance, a grommet 20 is placed in eachaperture 19 as shown in FIG. 4. The wires or lines (such as twine,string or monofilament) 18 may be secured to the elongated members 10 byany convenient means.

[0031] In preferred embodiments, the position and angle of the elongatedmember 10 with respect to the foot 15 allows the bottom of the member 10to be positioned very close to the fence or post to which it isattached. A preferably curved top portion or spacer 102 spaces the topof the member 10 away from he fence or post by about 200 to 350 mm. Theportion is preferably straight, but may be curved as shown in FIGS. 7and 9 to 12. As shown in FIG. 9, the portion 13 remains generallyparallel to the fence post 17 until about its mid-point 103.

[0032] The support 10 shown in top view in FIG. 3 is, for example, atthe left hand end of a row of plant supports 10. An angle brace 21(shown enlarged in FIG. 6) extends between the inner face 22 of themember 10 and the fence rail 23. Preferably the end of each wire 18 isconnected to one end of the body of a turnbuckle 24. The other end ofthe turn buckle 24 is connected to a threaded retainer member 25 whichis attached to a member 10 as shown in FIG. 5. Rotation of the turnbuckle 24 tensions the wire 18.

[0033] The elongated portion 13 may be of any convenient shape andvariations of the shape are shown in FIGS. 7 to 12.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 13 a plant support may be manufactured from apolymer, such as an injection moulded plastic. In this example, theelongated portion 131 is supported between a foot 132 and a curved topportion 133. The elongated portion 131 is fabricated from four or moreidentical segments 132. The upper extent of each segment 132 is in theform of a ferrule, flange or cup 133 which is adapted to receive andsecure the lower extent 134 of an adjacent segment 132. Each segment 132also includes a through opening 139. The uppermost ferrule 135 receivesthe lower terminal portion of the top portion 133. The top portion 133forms a curve which spaces the upper ferrule 135 from the fence post byabout 200-350 mm. The top portion 133 is given structural rigidity byforming it as a curved I beam. For additional rigidity, intermediateribs 136 are provided and extend between the upper and lower flanges137, 138 of the beam.

[0035] The top portion 133 also includes an integral mounting flange 140with laterally extending projections 141 in which are provided throughholes 142 for attaching the flange 140 to a wall, fence or fence post.

[0036] The foot 132 functions as both a stake or a mounting flange. Theupper portion of the foot is formed as a ferrule 143 for receiving alower end 134 of a section 132. The lower portion of the foot 132 formsa mounting flange 145 which lies generally in the same plane as theupper flange 140. The flange 145 is inclined with respect of the longaxis of the ferrule 143 and the elongated portion 131 and includesthrough openings 146 which facilitate attachments to the wall, fence orfence post. The flange 145 may be reinforced by a perpendicular rib 147.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 14, a further embodiment of the invention 150provides a modular and injection moulded construction which featuresenlarged flanges in the top portion or spacer 151. As shown better inFIG. 15, the flange 152 of the top portion or spacer 151 flaresoutwardly from the bottom joint 153 to the bracket-like mounting flange152. The mounting flange 152 incorporates ears 154 which extend forwardof the flat mounting face 155. The gap between the ears 154 is about 90mm which allows the gap 156 to receive a similarly sized fence post. Itwill be understood that the width of the gap 156 may be fabricated tosuit any particular size post. The mounting face 155 includes variousthrough openings 157 which are perpendicular to the face 155. The flange152 also incorporates openings 158 which are formed at an angle withrespect to the face 155. The top portion or spacer 151 is optionallyformed with reinforcing ribs 159 which provide rigidity and structuralstrength. A transverse through opening 160 is located between the bottomjoint 153 and the mounting flange 152. The lower abutment surface 161incorporates one or more slots 162 which facilitate lacing, as will beexplained. The bottom joint 153 comprises a male cruciform member 162located below the abutment surface 161.

[0038] While a top portion of the type depicted in FIG. 15 is ideallysuited for a fence post whose width is the same as the width of the gap156, this same structure may be used with posts of lesser width. Asshown in FIG. 16, a narrower fence post 170 is accommodated by locatingit centrally of the gap 156 and securing it in place utilising spacers171. The spacers fit between the post 170 and the ears 154. In thisexample, screws pass through the angled openings 158, through theopenings in the spacers 171 and enter the post 170 through the sidefaces 172.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 17, the spacers 171 comprise a generallyrectangular solid with opposed bevelled corners 173 and a pair ofthrough openings 174.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 18, the foot 180 (first shown in FIG. 14)comprises a mounting flange 181 featuring opposed slots 182. The topjoint 183 is offset by an angle A with respect to the long axis of thefoot 180. The top joint 183 comprises a socket or female member having acruciform or other shaped recess 184 adapted to receive the lowerextremity of the elongated portion.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 19, the elongated portion may be fabricated fromone or more modular sections 190. In this example, each section 190 isgenerally “I” shaped 191 in cross-section. One end of each section 190comprises a female member or socket 192 similar to or identical with thesocket 183 depicted in FIG. 18. A rim 193 surrounding the socket 192incorporates one or more slots 194 for facilitating the lacing togetherof plant supports, as will be explained. The opposite end of eachsection is formed as a cooperating cruciform male member 195 which isadapted to be received by the sockets 192 or 183. The intermediateportion of each section may be reinforced by ribs 196 as required. Thecentral web 197 of the intermediate portion of the section 190 alsoincorporates a pair of openings, preferably keyholes 198. Each keyholein the pair incorporates an enlarged portion 199 at one end of a slot ortapered slot 200. In preferred embodiments, the keyholes 198 are locatedwith the slots 200 adjacent one another and the enlarged portions 199 ateach end of the arrangement. The rim 201 also incorporates one or moreslots 202 to facilitate lacing.

[0042]FIG. 20 illustrates how two or more plant supports of the typeshown in FIG. 14 can be laced together. The embodiment depicted in FIGS.14-20 are particularly well adapted to be laced together utilising aplastic coated metal wire 203. The lacing process begins by attachingthe wire 203 to the through opening 204 (160) of a top portion 151. Thewire 203 is extended horizontally and introduced through an adjacentthrough opening 205 (160). After passing through the opening 205, thewire is pulled down 206 to a bottom keyhole 207 of a keyhole pair 198.The wire 203 is then pulled snug and lifted into the slot 200 to lock itin place. The same wire 203 is then extended horizontally 208 to the topkeyhole 209 of the first support. The wire 203 is then pulled throughthe top keyhole 209 and downwardly into the slot 200 wherein it islocked in place. The wire 203 then extends downwardly 210 to the bottomkeyhole 211 of a lower pair of keyholes 212 (198). This process iscontinued until adjacent plant supports 215, 216 are laced together. Anadditional plant support 217 may be conveniently added to the arraysimply by repeating the processes described with reference to plantsupports 215 and 216. It will be appreciated that the slots 202, 194,allow the wire to pass vertically and behind each plant support in anorderly and convenient way.

[0043] Various other modifications may be made in details of design andconstruction without departing from the scope and ambit of theinvention.

1. A plant support adapted to be mounted on a fence post, said supportcomprising: a top flange adapted to be mounted on an upper portion of afence post, a bottom flange adapted to be mounted on a lower portion ofthe fence post, and a support means extending between the bottom flangeand the top flange, said support means comprising an elongated portionextending upwardly from the bottom flange and arranged so as to be clearof the fence post when the plant support is mounted on the fence post,and a spacer portion extending from the top flange to the upper end ofthe elongated portion and arranged so as to extend away from the fencepost when the plant support is mounted on the fence post.
 2. The plantsupport of claim 1, wherein: the spacer is curved.
 3. The plant supportof claim 1, wherein: the top and bottom flanges are aligned in a commonvertical plane.
 4. The plant support of claim 1, wherein: the elongatedportion is formed from identical interlocking plastic sections.
 5. Theplant support of claim 1, wherein: the elongated portion has formed init one or more transverse through holes.
 6. The plant support of claim1, wherein: the spacer is integral with the top flange.
 7. The plantsupport of claim 1, wherein: the bottom flange is integral with a foot,the foot having means for receiving the lower end of the elongatedportion.
 8. The plant support of claim 1, further comprising: an anglebracket adapted to affix, at one end, to an inner face of the elongatedportion, and at another end, to a fence or fence post, vertical wall orsurface.
 9. The plant support of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: theelongated portion and spacer are integral.
 10. The plant support ofclaim 1, wherein: each portion has formed in it a pair of adjacentthrough openings.
 11. The plant support of claim 10, wherein: each ofthe pair of openings is in the form of a keyhole, each keyhole having anenlarged portion and a slot, the slots facing one another in each pair.12. The plant support of any one of claim 1 to 8, wherein: the topflange further comprises a mounting face having ears at either end, theears defining a gap for receiving the upper portion of the fence post.13. The plant support of claim 12, further comprising: a pair of spacersadapted to reside within the gap and between the ears and a post, whenin use.
 14. The plant support of claim 12, further comprising: angledthrough openings at either end of the gap adjacent to the ears.
 15. Theplant support of claim 1, wherein: each flange has at least one openingthere through.
 16. In combination, two or more of the supports of anyone of claims 1 to 8, and at least one length of wire or lineinterconnecting them.
 17. The combination of claim 9, wherein: the oreach wire or line is a plastic coated metal wire.